Florida Gubernatorial Candidate Alex Sink (D)

By Frank I. Luntz

Alex Sink takes aim at some of the most hated aspects of 2010: partisanship, special interests, corruption and wasteful spending. By aligning herself firmly on the side of the people, she states, "I'll be nobody's governor but yours." Voters want to know that their representatives will speak for them, not for special interests. This ad does just that.

Participants were given handheld computer devices about the size of a remote control and asked to turn their dials up if they agree with the message of the ad and down if they disagree. The red line you see on the screen reflects the responses of Republicans, the green line the Democrats  registered second-by-second. The higher the lines climb, the more favorable the impact. But when the lines drop, it indicates an ad that doesn't have credibility or impact. An ad that scores in the 70s (on a 0 to 100 scale) moves voters. An ad that fails to crack 40 is a failure. Less than one in ten ads reach 60 or higher among both Republicans and Democrats.